HSBC to launch mass market investment advice service

HSBC is preparing to launch an investment advice arm later this year for those with less than £50,000 to invest.

It comes as Santander announced its return to the investment advice market earlier this month, and as raft of of banks are said to be eyeing the development of robo-advice services.

An HSBC spokeswoman says: “Whilst we are not trialling robo-advice at the moment we are testing a simplified standalone investment service which will meet the needs of a broader range of customers. We will review this in the coming months.”

Santander also says it is committed to launching a robo-advice service by the end of 2016. This is alongside plans to launch a direct-to-consumer platform by the end of March, which will be powered by FNZ.

Money Marketing recently reported Barclays Wealth will launch an “affluent platform” this year for passive clients with simple investment needs starting at £50,000.

Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland are also reportedly launching a robo-advice service this year.

Threesixty managing director Phil Young says: “My bet on bank advice is a tightly controlled ‘robo’ at the heart and advisers concentrating on client acquisition and generic planning, but shying away from investment advice.

“That takes a lot of the advisory risk away from advisers and lumps much of it in the algorithm.”

Mystic Meg has told me that in the future the Regulator (whose name at the time even she does not know) will come along and tell the robot advisers that their algorithm is incorrect and this has lead to consumer detriment. Review all your rob advice business and make redress payments to those that your robots have scored over.
The wheels will just keep turning however I wish the Robo advice providers well with their ventures

Yep, rather like NHS direct and 111 algorythems, teh difference is that if these prove wrong people die and get no compensation, while if the insurers ones go wrong, the FOS will probably wipe out any profit they might have made. The perfect benefit of hindsight opportunity for the F-pack.